Watchman&#39;s time recorder



Nov, 9, 1937.

A. c. JOHNSON ET AL WATCHMAN S ZIME RECORDER Filed Aug. 14, 1936 2 SheetsSheet l wanes;-

Nov. 9, 1937. A. c. JOHNSON El AL Patented Nov. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Austin 0. Johnson and Theodore M. Wroble, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 14, 1936, Serial No. 96,001

5 Claims.

The invention relates to watchmans recording mechanism and more particularly it relates to a dial movable by suitable clock mechanism and means manually operable by the watchman or operator for punching the dial to indicate the time when the means was actuated.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved means manually operable by the watchman or operator for punching a dial of the kind described in such manner as to prevent the possibility of tampering with or injuring the dial or the elements comprising the dial punching means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a recording clock of the character described in which the dial, the mechanism for operating and the mechanisms for punching the dial are respectively positioned within a casing and are accessible only by opening a door in the casing, one of said mechanisms being operable by the unlocking of the door to record the fact of opening upon the dial.

A further object of the invention is the provision of improved means for punching a dial, said means being operable by the watchman or operator exerting a pull on a cable or wire adapted to project through the wall of a building or room housing the mechanism, one end of the cable being connected with the dial punching means in such a manner that by pulling upon 3 the cable, the punching means is actuated to in- 'dent or pierce the dial and is automatically returned to non-operative position regardless of whether or not the pull on the cable is relinquished.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a dial punching mechanism of the kind described which is simple in operation, inexpensive to manufacture, durable and satisfactory for its intended purpose.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein given.

To this end our invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts herein shown and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts:

59 Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the interior of a casing providing a container or housing for clock mechanism, a dial sheet rotated by the clock mechanism, and a pair of members for punching the dial sheet, the casing being nor-. mally closed by a door not shown in this view Fig. 2 is a view of certain elements as observed along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 with the door in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a view of one of the dial punching mechanisms including a punch bar shown in dial punching position in full lines and in maximum retracted position in dotted lines;

Fig. i is a view of a portion of the dial punching mechanism shown in Fig. 3, the mechanism being in the position corresponding to the dotted line or full retracted position of the punch bar;

Figs. 5 and 6 are views along the lines 5-5 and 6-6 respectively of Fig. 3; and

Fig. '7 is a view along the line 1-1 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the housing or casing is generally designated by the numeral H1 and the closure or door therefor by the numeral H. The door II is hingedly connected to the casing ID by pivots l2 and is locked in closed position by a latch l3 rotatable in a manner hereinafter more particularly described to unlock the door and indent a dial sheet I! whereby the time of unlocking the door is recorded. The casing I0 is preferably fastened to the vertical face of a wall M by any suitable means such as screws, bolts or the like, not shown.

A partition plate provides a mounting for the dial sheet I! and for a clock mechanism mounted in a casing generally designated by the numeral l6 fastened in any suitable manner to the partition plate 15. The clock mechanism rotates the dial sheet I! by actuating an arbor or dial shaft l9 and is neither illustrated nor described since any ordinary clock mechanism may be used.

The dial sheet I! is preferably circular and is provided with a central aperture l8 through which the dial shaft I9 projects to provide a mounting for a cap 20. The sheet I1 has a plurality of circumferentially arranged apertures 23, in each of which a lug 24 is positioned in close fitting relation. The lugs 24 project from a collar 25 mounted on and rotatable with the dial shaft IS. The collar 25 is connected with the shaft [9 by a key 21 and is positioned in an aperture 2i in the partition plate 15 where it is yieldingly held by one end of a spring 22 in. contact with the dial sheet H. The other end of the spring 22 abuts a horizontal plate 6| positioned in the casing H5. The clock mechanism is adapted to rotate the dial shaft l9 through one complete revolution every seven days and by reason of the operative engagement of the lugs 24 with the dial sheet H, the latter is also caused to rotate at the rate of one revolution per week. The inner portion of the dial sheet I! is divided by seven equally spaced radial lines into as many areas each corresponding to and designated by a different day of the week. Each of said areas is subdivided by a radial line to provide A. M. and P. M. segments. The outer portion of the dial sheet I! is provided with one hundred sixty eight equally spaced radial lines to indicate the hourly movement of the dial sheet. A plate 26, fastened at one end to the partition plate l5, has its free end elevated and projecting over the sheet I! to provide a pointer. The cap 29 is held in contact with the sheet ll by detents 28 normally operatively engaging the shaft [9 and yieldable to permit removal and remounting of the cap at the end of a week or any fraction of a week if necessary. The detents 28 have inwardly projecting flanged ends 59 positioned in an annular recess 69 in the dial shaft l9. The recess 69 has a tapered upper edge permitting the ends 59 of the detents 28 to slide thereover in removing the cap 20.

The door ii is shown in its normally closed position in Fig. 2 with the latch l3 underlying and in lockingengagement with a lug 29 formed on the adjacent'edge of the casing it). The latch I3 is yieldingly held in locked position by a spring 39 and is rotated from locked to unlocked position by a key actuated shaft 3! on which the latch is fixedly mounted. The outer projecting end of the shaft 3i is angular in cross section to receive a key operable to rotate the latch E3 to unlocked position.

In order that the dial sheet I! may indicate the time when the door H is unlocked by actuation of the latch I3, a cam member 32 is provided on the latch H3 in operative engagement with a punch bar 33. The bar 33 has one end fixedly mounted on the partition plate 15 and its other end projecting over the pointer plate 26. The free end of the bar .33 carries a punch 34 and its intermediate portion has a corrugation 35 operatively engaged by the cam member 32 in such a manner that rotation of the latch 13 to disengage the lug 29 and unlock the door ll moves the free end of the bar 33 towards the plate 26. The plate 26 is provided with an aperture 36 in register with a corresponding recess or aperture 31 in the plate I5. The described movement of the bar 33 by the cam member 32 carries the punch 34 into the aperture and pierces or indents the dial sheet I1, and thereby registers the time when the door H is unlocked. The punch 34 is immediately released from indenting or piercing engagement with the dial sheet ll, either by opening the door or by the spring 39 rotating the shaft 3! and the cam 32 back to the position shown in Fig. 2.

The casing Hi, looked as described, also provides a housing for mechanism operable to indent or puncture the slowly revolving dial sheet IT by watchmen or others in order that their presence in the locality may be recorded. The mechanism is actuated by the watchman pulling upon a chain or equivalent elongated member 38 having one end operatively engaging the mechanism and the other end provided with a ring or equivalent. device 39 adapted to be grasped by the watchman in order that the chain may be pulled to set the mechanism in motion. It is common practice to have the ring 39 positioned in some inconspicuous place on the outside of the wall of a building or room in which the device is positioned so that the watchman in making his rounds may thereby register his presence. It frequently happens that a watchman is tempted to neglect his duty and render the recording mechanism inoperative by pulling and fastening the chain 38 taut with the dial punch- 7 ing mechanism in engagement with the dial sheet ll so that the sheet is torn or mutilated or otherwise rendered ineffective by its continuous revolution in contact with the piercing or indenting portion of the mechanism. This is usually done in the early part of the night, the watchman meanwhile omitting his calls and returning later to release the chain, this being followed by a report that the device is out of order.

The invention provides improved mechanism adapted to operatively engage the dial sheet I? when the chain 38 is pulled and automatically operable to immediately disengage the sheet regardless of whether or not the pull on the chain is relinquished, thereby rendering it impossible for a' lazy or incompetent watchman to spoil the record. The improved mechanism comprises a relatively rigid punch bar 49 having its free end terminating adjacent the free end of the bar 33 and carrying a punch ll overlying the registering apertures 36 and 3? in the plates at and i5, respectively. The normal position of the bar 49 is'shown in Fig. 2 with the punch 4i contiguous to but clearing the sheet ii. A frame comprising a pair of spaced apart plates 42, suitably fastened to the partition plate :5, provides a support for the bar 49. The bar 49 is positioned between the plates 42 and normally rests upon a spacer member 43 as shown in Fig. 2. A rod 44, rigidly connected with and extending transversely to the bar 49, has its ends respectively projecting through short slots 45 formed in the plates 42 to provide a movable pivot for the bar. The end of the bar 49 adjacent the rod 44 comprises a pair of prongs 45 separated by a recess ll. The ends of the prongs 48 extend transversely to the bar 49 to provide cam surfaces forengagement with a pin carried by an arm 49, the arm being adapted to enter the recess when the bar is in the position shown in Fig. 4.

The arm 49 is. swingable about a pivot 59 connecting it with an L-shaped lever 5i the arm being bifurcated and the lever being positioned between the bifurcated portions of the arm. The lever 5i is rotatably mounted on a pivot 52 connecting the plates 42 and is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 2 by a tensile spring 53. In the normal position of the punch ll out of engagement with the sheet 11, the rod 4 1 is at the lower end of the slots 45 with the inter mediate portion of the bar 49 resting upon the spacer member 43 with its bifurcated ends or prongs 4E1 bearing against the pin 48 and with the arm 69 positioned in the recess 47, all as shown in Fig.2.

The chain 38 extends through'a conduit 54! provided in one wall of the casing ID, the outer edge of the conduit being uniformly tapered to permit the exterior portion of the chain to extend at any angle to the conduit and be freely movable therein. The chain 38 is fastened to the lever 5| in such a manner that initial pull on the chain will rotate the lever about the pivot 52 against the resistance of the spring 53, from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 4 and further pull will result in the lever being moved to the position shown in Fig. 3. The initial rotation of the lever 5i about the pivot 52 causes the arm 49 to move with it in a manner to pull the pin 48 over the slightly curved projections of the prongs 46 to the position shown in Fig. 4, the camming action of the pin rotating the bar 40 away from the spacer 43, and as a. result, the end of the bar carrying the punch 4| is moved away from the sheet I! to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and in full lines in Fig. 4. The described movement of the bar 40 is resisted by a tensile spring 55, having one end fastened to a bar 56 and its other end connected with the bar 40 at a point intermediate the rod 44 and the normal contacting point of the bar with the spacer member 43. Further rotation of the lever 5| resulting from continued pull on the chain 38 carries the arm 49 to the position shown in Fig. 3 wherein the pin 48 has been caused to ride over and off of the curved portions of the prongs 46 and no longer holds the bar 40 against the pull exerted thereon by the spring 55. Upon the instant of release of the bar 40 from operative engagement with the pin 48. the spring 55 snaps the bar 40 back to the position of Fig. 2 wherein it rests upon the spacer 43, and as shown in the full line position of Fig. 3, the momentum of the bar 40 and the punch 4| moves the punch past its normal position to momentarily pierce the sheet and also moves the rod 44 to the upper end of the slots 45. The movement of the punch 4| past its normal position and the positioning of the rod 44 in the upper end of the slots 45 occurs instantaneously and the bar 40 immediately thereafter takes its normal position shown in Fig. 2 wherein the punch 4| is released from engagement with the sheet I! and the rod 44 is in the lower ends of the slots 45. The spring is so constructed that it exerts a constant slight pull on the bar 40 when the latter is static and in the position shown in Fig. 2. Obviously, the bar 413 will return to its normal position wherein the punch 4| disengages the sheet regardless of whether the arm 49 and lever 5| are held in the position shown in Fig. 3 by reason of a continuous pull on the chain 38 or whether the pull on the chain is relinquished, and there is, therefore, no possibility of the punch 4| being held in contact with the sheet.

Further operation of the device requires that the arm 49 and the lever 5| be returned to their respective normal positions shown in Fig. 2 and this is accomplished by the pull of the spring 53 upon the lever as soon as the watchman has re linquished his pull upon the chain 38. The return movement of the lever 5| is limited by a stop iember 58 positioned in the path of the lever.

The arm 49 is returned to operative position by the actuation of the lever 5| by the spring 53, the pin 48 being meanwhile moved along and in contact with the adjacent faces of the prongs 46. A spring 51, mounted on the pivot 52 operatively engages the arm 49 in such a manner as to tend to rotate the arm in clockwise direction as observed in Figs. 3 and 4. The spring 51 holds the pin 48 in contact with the prongs 46 and causes the pin to ride over the curved portions of the prongs to the position shown in Fig. 2 without movement of the bar 40. The spring 51 is sufficiently strong to actuate the arm 49 as described and its resilience is such that it offers only slight resistance to actuation of the arm in the opposite direction to release the pin 48 from operative engagem nt with the prongs 46 of the bar 40.

Thus it will be seen that we have provided improved mechanism of the kind described which is inoperable except by exerting a pull upon a tensile member such, for example, as a chain or cord and which, by reason of the pull exerted thereon, automatically records it actuation and returns to its normal inoperative position regardless of whether the pull on the cord is continued or relinquished. We have also provided locking means for a housing containing the recording mechanism actuated as described, and in addition have provided improved means for recording the time when the housing is unlocked.

Having thus described our invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention; hence we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the kind described. a frame, a sheet movable relative to the frame, a bar, means providing a movable pivot connecting the bar with the frame. a punch mounted on the bar normally out of engagement with the sheet and movable beyond its normal position towards the sheet. a stop member mounted on the frame adjacent the movable pivot and providing a fulcrum for the bar as the pivot is moved, mechanism operable to rotate the bar about sa d movable pivot to move the punch away from the sheet and the bar away from said stop member and then to operatively disengage the bar, means for manually actuating said mechanism, and resilient means adapted to snap the disengaged bar back to normal position in contact with said stop member, the momentum resulting from said return movement of the punch and bar carrying the punch beyond its normal position into momentary punching engagement with said sheet.

2. In a device of the kind described, a frame, a sheet movable relative to the frame, a bar, means providing a movable pivot connecting the bar with the frame, a punch mounted on the bar normally out of engagement with the sheet and movable beyond its normal position towards the sheet, a stop member mounted on the frame adjacent the movable pivot and providing a fulcrum for the bar as the pivot is moved, mechanism operable to rotate the bar about said movable pivot to move the punch away from the sheet and the bar away from said stop member and then to operatively disengage the bar, means for manually actuating said mechanism, and resilient means adapted to snap the disengaged bar back to normal position in contact with said stop member, the momentum resulting from said return movement of the punch and bar carrying the punch beyond its normal position into momentary punching engagement with said sheet, and a tensile spring and a resilient member co-operating to operatively reengage said mechanism and bar following return of the punch to its normal position.

3. In a device of the kind described, a frame, a sheet movable relative to the frame, a bar, means providing a movable pivot connecting the bar with the frame, a punch mounted on the bar normally out of engagement with the sheet and movable beyond its normal position towards the Sheet, a stop member mounted on the frame adjacent the movable pivot and providing a fulcrum for the bar as the pivot is moved, an arm operatively engaging the bar adapted to rotate the bar about said movable pivot to move the punch away from the sheet and the bar away from said stop member and then to operatively disengage the arm and bar, a lever operatively related to said arm, a flexible member fastened to the lever and extending through a wall of the casing, said lever being operable by a pull on the flexible member to actuate the lever to move the arm to disengage the bar, and resilient means adapted to snap the disengaged bar back to normal position in contact with said stop member, the momentum resulting from said return movement of the punch and bar carrying the punch beyond its normal position into momentary punching engagement with said sheet.

4. In a device of the kind described, a frame, a sheet movable relative to the frame, a bar, means providing a movable pivot connecting the bar with the frame, a punch mounted on the bar normally out of engagement with the sheet and movable beyond its normal position towards the sheet, a stop member mounted on the frame adjacent the movable pivot and providing a fulcrum for the bar as the pivot is moved, an arm operatively engaging the bar adapted to rotate the bar about said movable pivot to move the punch away from the sheet and the bar away from said step memher and then to operatively disengage the arm and bar, a lever cperatively related to said arm, a flexible member fastened to the lever and extending through a wall of the casing, said lever being operable by a pull on the flexible member to actuate the lever to move the arm to disengage the bar, and resilient means adapted to snap the disengaged bar back to normal position in contact with said stop member, the momentum resulting from said return movement of the punch and bar carrying the punch beyond its normal position into momentary punching engagement with said sheet, autensile spring adapted to move the lever back to the bar engaging position of said arm when the pull on said flexible member is relinquished, and a resilient member operable to reengage said arm with said bar upon said return movement of the lever.

5. In adevice of the kind described, a casing, a closure secured to the casing, a dial sheet rotatable in the casing, a resilient bar having one end rigidly connected with the casing and the other end projecting over the dial sheet, a punch mounted on the bar normally out of engagement with the sheet and movable beyond its normal position towards the sheet, a latch rotatable to lock and unlock the closure, said bar providing a cam face and said latch providing a cam member operatively engaging said-face, said cam'member being movable to force the bar downwardly to eperatively engage the punch with said dial sheet for an instant by rotation of the latch to lock or unlock said closure.

AUSTIN C. JOHNSON.

THEODORE M. WROBLE. 

